Fun facts about Africa

Between 1525 and 1866, it is estimated that 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Americas.

There are 54 countries in Africa – and 9 territories –with a total of more than 1.1 billion people living on the continent, which is 15% of the world’s total population.

Victoria Falls & Geza pyramids both located in Africa are some of the natural wonders of the world.

There are over 3,000 protected areas in Africa, including 198 Marine Protected Areas, 50 Biosphere Reserves, and 129 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Largest country by landmass in Africa is Algeria. The country is covering more than half the continent’s landmass. However, the most populous country is Nigeria, with more than 185 million people, but the country is only a third of the size of Algeria.

Highest Mountainion Africa is Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The highest peak of the mountain ‘Kibo Peak’, also called ‘Uhuru Peak’, (4,895metres/16,060ft) is located in the Tanzanian highlands.

Lake Victoria (bordering Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya) is also the world’s second largest freshwater lake. Only Lake Superior in North America is bigger.

Africa is the ‘cradle of humankind’, the place where the first hominids, human beings and their closest relatives the gorilla and chimpanzees, evolved 5 to 10 million years ago.

It is estimated that about 2,000 different languages are spoken on the African continent.

Africa is the world’s poorest and most underdeveloped continent with a continental GDP that accounts for just 2.4% of global GDP.

The national flag of Mozambique has the image of an AK-47 assault rifle embedded into it. It is one of only two national flags of UN member states to feature a firearm. The other is Guatemala.

Africa has the largest-remaining populations of lion, elephant, rhinoceros, cheetah, hyena, leopard and hundreds of other species. Africa has 85% of the total elephant population of the world and 99% of the total lion population. The Serengeti (Tanzania) hosts the world’s largest wildlife migration on Earth with over 750,000 zebras marching ahead of 1.2 million wildebeest as they cross this amazing landscape.

The world’s oldest educational institution is still functioning in Africa. University of Al-Karaouine, located in Morocco, was originally a madrassa, founded in 859 AD by Fatima al-Fihri.